Facebook (Meta) opens up to cryptocurrency ads

Facebook has opened up to cryptocurrency ads, allowing products such as NFTs to be advertised.

After a long ban, Meta (Facebook’s new name) is now softening its policies, but this does not mean that from now on all ads will be allowed. 

Facebook’s new rules on cryptocurrency ads

As explained in the official statement, it will now be easier to make crypto-themed ads, especially if the account already has the appropriate licences. The most important change is that the number of licences accepted by Facebook has increased from 3 to 27. 

Facebook’s goal is to get to the point where those who want to sponsor their crypto will only have to prove that they are in compliance with current regulations. It reads in fact:

“Over the years the cryptocurrency landscape has matured and stabilized and experienced an increase in government regulation, which has helped to set clearer responsibilities and expectations for the industry. Going forward, we will be moving away from using a variety of signals to confirm eligibility and instead requiring one of these 27 licenses”.

This openness will lead to many more users sponsoring their crypto product on Facebook. Some products will have very little trouble seeing approved ads.

For example, wallets that only perform crypto custody services, sites that offer cryptocurrency and blockchain news, and even NFTs will be allowed by submitting an application and accompanying it with permission. This is precisely the discriminating factor: submit one of the 27 permissible licences. For instance, services in the United States that have already obtained a FinCEN licence will find a way through. 

The consequences of the opening up of Meta

This opening up of the market will have important positive consequences for the entire sector. First of all, it will benefit NFTs, which will now be allowed to be sponsored. But above all, the entire industry will benefit, as it will have fewer constraints on a platform that has over 2 billion users, between Facebook and Instagram.

According to some, this may extend the adoption of cryptocurrencies. 

A former Facebook employee, now managing partner at Fundamental Labs, Henry Love, told CNBC:

“With more openness and transparency for what crypto companies can do, we will see more adoption for the cryptocurrency industry and the metaverse than ever before. This is a game changer for mass adoption”.

The reasons for the shift in mindset

What is the reason for this shift? As explained in the official announcement, most certainly due to the fact that the cryptocurrency industry has matured. Now crypto companies have a lot of rules to abide by and comply with. It cannot be ruled out that the regulatory framework will change again, and this could lead Facebook, or rather Meta, to review its policies again, perhaps expanding the licences allowed. 

It must also be said that with the launch of Diem (formerly Libra) and the Novi wallet, it did not make much sense for Meta to be stringent with regard to a sector in which it is itself working. 

It is not yet clear when Diem and Novi will see the light of day. What is certain is that Novi will have to do without the guidance of David Marcus, who announced his farewell to Facebook in recent days. The team of the colossus created by Mark Zuckerberg seems to be operating in various sectors, from virtual currencies to the metaverse. And it is not excluded that these projects could meet and integrate.